There's an article in today's Independent,by Steve Richrds, which tends to confirm all of my worst fears; he writes: "If there were an election tomorrow the Liberal democrats wpould be in danger of losing all of their seats in the South West, Labour would increase its share of the vote and the Conservatives would gain every constituency in the region without necessarily adding a single new supporter to its tally at the last election. The main beneficiary, if there is a collapse in Lib Dem support, is the Conservative Party."

He concludes his article as follows: "The Lib Dems are not the only ones in a no-win situation. At least Clegg has the excuse of power . The sweeping increases in top-up fees are terrible for the Lib Dems, but will prove to be as much as a nightmare for Labour. The political beneficiaries of the row will be the Conservatives, the only party that officially supports the policy that sparks such fiery opposition."